The village in which a convicted murderer absconded from a secure unit has expressed its frustration at being “kept in the dark” about the killer.

Richard Dennick, who used the name Richard Bracken and was sentenced to life in prison for the 1982 murder of Llanberis vicar Canon Alun Jones, went missing from Llanfairfechan’s Bryn y Neuadd hospital on Monday morning.

At the private Ty Bryn day nursery in the grounds of Bryn y Neuadd, staff took calls from worried parents while the manhunt continued.

But manager Julie Everley said her security measures were adequate and that none of the nursery’s 26 children and 12 staff had to be sent home early.

She said: “We had lot of phone calls from parents but we reassured people everyone was safe.

“It was a busy day but nobody panicked and we’re back to normal now.”

Ms Everley kept the windows locked, escorted people to and from the nursery, and liaised by phone with Matthew Jones, headteacher of Pant y Rhedyn primary school and Ysgol Babanod Llanfairfechan.

Nathan Gill MEP, Aled Roberts AM and Llyr Gruffydd AM all asked why police failed to warn the public not to approach Dennick in an appeal issued just hours after he vanished, while Janet Finch-Saunders AM is organising a public meeting on the matter.

Professor Matt Makin, medical director at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: “The health board has a clear leave policy drawn up in agreement with the North Wales Police Public Protection Unit and MAPPA (Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements), and any application for unescorted leave is made by the clinical team in conjunction with these partners.

“It is also subject to a detailed risk assessment and any application has to be approved by the Ministry of Justice before any unescorted leave can take place.

“However, we will be learning from this incident. A full review of the circumstances surrounding the absconding and any lessons learned will be added into our policy and agreed with our partners.

“We engaged fully with North Wales Police as the situation developed and all relevant clinical resources were allocated to the incident to assist with locating the patient.

“It is important to note that, if Mr Bracken was detained in prison, he would be eligible to apply for release on parole.

“Once prisoners are transferred into the mental health system, they are treated primarily as patients, and the decisions of the clinical teams in charge of their care are aimed at supporting their treatment and rehabilitation.”